Randy Harvey continues his Osprey Osprey Publishing marathon with a review of "World War II Soviet Armed Forces (2) 1942-43" by Dr. Nigel Thomas and illustrator Darko Pavlovic.



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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

I have a number of the books in this series and the only thing I don't like about them is where they show equipment with a number code but you have to check sometimes several pages on to find out exactly what is what.

Nice review Randy. I have to agree with Darren though- some copies of Osprey books have info about equipment on the back of the color plate- thats better. Having it at the end is rather annoying but still, not that big a problem.
To me the wealth of different Soviet uniforms and insignia is confusing at times- I reckon this book would make it nice and clear.

Cheers Harv. one needs these sort of books to get to grips with Soviet uniforms. There seamed to be alot of small changes to they're uniforms, would be a shame to model 1944-45 uniforms at Starlingrad.

Don't know about the rest of the book, but just from the preview:
"... carry blanket-rolls over their shoulder ..." (page 16, lower photo)
Actually that is not a blanket. It is a greatcoat rolled like that. Here is another example of it:

They also rolled waterproof cape (could also be used as a tent) like that, but it would be much flatter than on the photo from the book.

My friends from Moscow gave me one of these rain capes as present this summer 1976 dated,they were the same style they used them during WW2

Thank you everyone for your replies. As I always try to state, I do appreciate any and all feedback as it always helps me to write better reviews.

After reading your replies I realized there are a few other items I should have discussed. Bill C. has also contacted me and with his suggestions, and your comments, I hope to write better reviews in the future.

Thank you again,
Randy

Alex it is my understanding that the rolled tent squares where often used to store odds and ends in (even clean clothing) when rolled and so would no always look as indicated in the picture. Am I wrong in this belief?

Hi, Darren
I have never heard of Red Army soldiers doing such things. I have read somewhere awhile ago that Romanian infantry did something like that. But in my personal view it is very impractical - if you need to use it as a raincoat (or a tent) what do you do with all your stuff?
Plus those Russian raincoats/tents had holes in them for your arms. Again, not very convenient to store personal items.



I am still 100% sure that a guy in the photo from the book has a greatcoat rolled like that. You could see it on the first photo from my previous post. Here is a better photo for you to see what it looked like:



To store personal items they were using a standard issue bag:



For a good reference you may like check out this site: http://rkka.ru/iuniform.htm Or if you are interested I have PDF file of the 1941 Red Army soldier field equipment manual (46 pages, 4.83 Mb)

Thank you Alex I am very interested in the "1941 Red Army soldier field equipment manual". I have read quite a lot about the Russian infantry man and the equipment they should have, and I have several books on the subject dealing mostly with the soldier rather than the war in general. My belief was formed by various bits and pieces I have picked up from written material which indicated some of the habits that were formed by necessity rather than by design.

I was not saying that it could never happen. I was saying that it seems very impractical to me.
As far as the book, PM me with your e-mail address and I will send you the manual.